Sec. 421. Development of medical staffing standards for the Coast Guard

333 words·~2 min read·/bill/117/s/4802/rs/section-421

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Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant, in consultation with the Defense Health Agency and any healthcare expert the Commandant considers appropriate, shall develop medical staffing standards for the Coast Guard consistent with the recommendations of the Comptroller General of the United States set forth in the report entitled Coast Guard Health Care: Improvements Needed for Determining Staffing Needs and Monitoring Access to Care published in February 2022. The standards required by subsection

(a)shall address and take into consideration the following: Current and future operations of healthcare personnel in support of Department of Homeland Security missions, including surge deployments for incident response. Staffing standards for specialized providers, such as flight surgeons, dentists, behavioral health specialists, and physical therapists. Staffing levels of medical, dental, and behavioral health providers for the Coast Guard who are— members of the Coast Guard; assigned to the Coast Guard from the Public Health Service; Federal civilian employees; or contractors hired by the Coast Guard to fill vacancies. Staffing levels at medical facilities for Coast Guard units in remote locations. Any discrepancy between medical staffing standards of the Department of Defense and medical staffing standards of the Coast Guard. Not later than 90 days after the staffing standards required by subsection

(a)are completed, the Commandant shall submit the standards to the Comptroller General, who shall review the standards and provide recommendations to the Commandant. Not later than 180 days after developing such standards, the Commandant shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the standards developed under subsection

(a)that includes a plan and a description of the resources and budgetary needs required to implement the standards. The Commandant shall— modify such standards as necessary based on the recommendations provided under subsection (c); implement the standards; and review and update the standards not less frequently than every 4 years.